Another business park scheme announced
20.02.08
A planning application has been submitted for a new £75m business park near Durham Tees Valley Airport. The scheme, the third in the pipeline near the hub, could create up to 1,250 jobs and will consist of 11 two-storey commercial units comprising 14,560sq m in total on brown field land to the North-east of the airport. However, one local councillor has described the development as a ‘white elephant’ and warned that the units are likely to sit empty, like other developments in the area.
Under the proposals, each of the 11 new units could be sub-divided to produce individual office suites ranging in size from 50 to 2000sq m and arranged around a central atrium. It is reported that the offices would be aimed at small businesses and start-up companies linked to the airport. The agent for the development is Blackett Hart and Pratt (BHP), who are acting on behalf of the applicant and owner of the site, development firm Sven Investments.
Steve Barker, head of planning at BHP, said the scheme would offer a different product to other local developments. He said: ‘It should be seen as complimentary to traditional offices, not a threat. One of the central benefits about this proposal is its inherent flexibility.’
Mr Barker said it was ‘too early’ to say who the tenants would be but expected them ‘to be related to the airport’. He said: ‘This is not a scheme to attract businesses that would otherwise be located in the centres of Darlington or Stockton.'
Darlington Council confirmed it had received the application and during the next 13 weeks will consult with organisations such as the Highways Agency and Government Office for the North East. A spokesperson for the council said: ‘The scheme is designed to provide offices for airport-related use.’
Hugh Lang, managing director of Durham Tees Valley Airport, said he was aware of the proposals but needed to review the details before he could comment further. Earlier this year the airport secured planning permission to create a separate business park consisting of offices and an airport hotel on a 200,000sq ft site to the North of the airport.
In addition, TVR is developing plans to create a new business park at Durham Tees Valley Airport and is hoping to attract significant inward investment to the area. A spokesman for the firm confirmed it was not involved in the Sven Investments-led scheme and would reveal details of its airport project in the next few months. The emphasis will be on travel, airport and logistics-related activity and an additional 6000 car parking spaces, he said.
Doris Jones, councillor for Middleton St George, said she was very sceptical about the new proposals. She said: ‘I would take a very dim view of offices at the airport unless they were all used by airport related businesses, otherwise it could be a white elephant. There are already empty offices in Morton Park, in Darlington, there is no need for more, unless they are airport related. If they are not, I would be raising an objection to the plans.’
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